A method and apparatus for interrogating a sample that exhibits molecular rotation
includes placing the sample in a container having both magnetic and electromagnetic
shielding, where Gaussian noise is injected into the sample. An electromagnetic
time-domain signal composed of sample source radiation superimposed on the injected
Guassian noise is detected, and this signal is used to generate a spectral plot
that displays, at a selected power setting of the Gaussian noise source, low-frequency
spectral components characteristic of the sample in a selected frequency range
between DC and 50 kHz. In one embodiment, the spectral plot that is generated is
a histogram of stochastic resonance events over the selected frequency range. From
this spectrum, one or more low-frequency signal components that are characteristic
of the sample being interrogated are identified.